Preps reporter

After making two consecutive trips to the state playoffs, Jackson County wants more.

And the trek to a third straight playoff appearance begins with summer workouts.

“It doesn’t take a lot of motivation (to get them to summer workouts),” Jackson County coach Benji Harrison said. “What motivates them is being successful. They’ve tasted it the last two years and they want to build on that.”

This year, the Panthers have taken their voluntary summer workouts up a notch, Harrison said. Jackson County went 3-3-1 at a 7-on-7 camp at Jefferson last week. On Friday, they’ll head to passing camp at Georgia and return to Jefferson for another 7-on-7 June 19. They’ll round out their camp schedule at Lassiter in July.

“It puts the defense in a bad situation because you touch them, there’s no rush, the quarterback gets to sit back there,” Harrison said. “You can’t really simulate that, I don’t think, here with all of our guys. Defensively, you get to see a lot of formations, a lot of different route combinations, so it’s really good to understand what we’re doing coverage-wise.”

The workouts have also been crucial for the Panthers’ offense, which will have to replace all-time leading receiver Xavier Harper. Harper hauled in 62 receptions for 1,164 yards and 17 touchdowns for Jackson County in 2013.